Gorman folds team, citing lack of players

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 21, 2000 | 9:21 a.m.

For the past five years, the American Legion baseball playoffs have been Bishop Gorman's personal playground, with many of the program's highlights coming in July and August.

Five consecutive times, the team has reached the Legion state title game, winning three of those championships. In 1998, Gorman captured the region title as well, earning an appearance in the American Legion World Series.

But as this summer's Legion playoffs get set to begin on Monday, the Gaels won't have the chance to add another chapter to their storied postseason legacy.

With two games remaining in his squad's regular season, Gorman coach Ken White has folded his team and withdrawn from playoff consideration -- citing a lack of players as the reason for his decision.

"I've got guys out of town, on vacation, at baseball camps, injured and on an all-Catholic school retreat," White said. "We only have seven guys left."

White denied rumors that players had been suspended for violating team rules.

Gorman ends its season with a 25-14 overall record and a 10-6 mark in league play. Wins against Bonanza and Moapa Valley in the Gaels' remaining contests would have lifted the team to an automatic berth into the state tournament. Instead, those will go down as forfeits.

"It's very disappointing not being able to get a chance to play in the tournament," White said. "It's disappointing for the guys who stuck it out. They wanted to bring JV kids up, whatever we could do, but they had to be on the 18-man roster by July 1 (to be eligible for the postseason)."

Gorman's withdrawal comes on the heels of its championship run at the Bill Newhouse Invitational in Miles City, Mont., last week. The Gaels finished 6-1 at the eight-team event, capturing the title on Sunday night.

Durango, Cimarron-Memorial, Palo Verde and Basic will be the state tourney's top four seeds. Chaparral, Cheyenne, Silverado and Green Valley have shots to claim the other two automatic berths, which will be determined when the Cowboys host Las Vegas and the Desert Shields entertain Clark tonight.

The top six conference finishers, along with Northern Nevada representative Reno High, qualify for the eight-team state tournament scheduled for July 29-Aug. 5 at UNLV's Wilson Stadium. The state tournament's final spot will go to the winner of the district tournament -- a single-elimination event featuring the conference's other 12 teams. That tourney will begin Monday at Durango, Eldorado and Valley.

Regular season champion Durango will lead the West squad with five selections: Chris Kelly, Nate Bumstead, E.J. Shanks, Brent Johnson and Adam Klestinec. Basic will also bring five players to the game for the East, with Jared Prisbrey, Mica Schnurstein, Leland Montoya, Nate Goodman and Brian Lake representing the Wolves.

Palo Verde, Cimarron, Green Valley, Silverado and Chaparral will have four players apiece in the contest. All-Star festivities will kick off at 4 p.m. with skills competitions.

Durango captured the 18th annual Woodward Classic in Woodward, Okla., last week, going 7-1 at the event. The Blazers claimed the title with an 8-2 victory over Texas' Austin Slam, a Connie Mack all-star team. Durango is back on the road this week, playing in the San Clemente Baseball Tournament in San Clemente, Calif.